Bruised
by LoveAngel1705
Summary: Dean didn't know how he missed the signs. He just wanted to know how to fix it, but Sam wouldn't let him. Protective!Dean
1. Dean

It was his job to protect Sammy, always had been

It was his job to protect Sammy, always had been. He had thought he protected him from everything out there, but now he was wondering just how he had missed it. He had failed Sam, and worse now. It was at least a decade later. He couldn't fix it now.

Sam had always had the worst luck when it came to the supernatural, so it was no shock when he stumbled upon a 'Fountain of Youth' for lack of a better description. Now, Dean was dealing with a ten year old Sammy and finding out exactly how badly he'd failed at protecting his brother.

Dean had made sure nothing supernatural touched Sammy he had never expected the true problem to be so close to home.

Sam and his dad had always fought. Dean had always been the mediator, at least that's what he remembered.

Dean had been shocked at first when twelve year old Sammy kept asking where dad went. Dean remembered Sam always taking what he said at face value. There was something in Sam's face when he asked about dad though, fear.

It wasn't until later that night that Dean caught sight of the bruises. They'd been looking for a shirt for Sam to wear that didn't swallow him whole. He would've thought they were something Sam had gotten from a hunt, had they not been hand-shaped in places.

Dean started playing referee between Sam and his dad when he was sixteen. Before then, there hadn't been as much arguing between the two. He had always wondered what changed to make those two bull-headed men go at each other like they did.

Sam had even told him before he left for Stanford, "I just can't handle the fights with dad anymore Dean. I'm going to snap if I don't go now."

Those words had been the only reason Dean had let Sammy go to college. Even we he was in college, not picking up his phone, a world away, Dean checked up on him every two weeks like clockwork.

The "Fountain of Youth" effect wore off in a week, and Dean asked Sam straight up if his suspicions were right. Had his dad really hurt Sam?

"Yes." Sam said, before walking into Bobby's house.

Somewhere in the back of Dean's mind he wondered why Sam had always kept this from him.

Dean decided Sam probably thought he was protecting Dean. How twisted is that? He was supposed to take care of Sam. He was the older brother. His dad had ordered him to protect Sammy, and like a good little soldier he protected him.

He didn't do it out of some misguided need to be the 'good little soldier' though. It was ingrained in him. Every since the day he ran out of the fire with Sam in his arms. He promised he would always be there to protect him.

He failed.

Dean understood demons. They are evil. They kill. Humans were different. His dad loved him and Sammy. He knew it. He'd seen his father protect both of them with an iron fist.

Why? Was he drunk? Did he blame Sam for what happened to mom? Had he been possessed?

Everything in him wanted to say possessed, but the bruising he had seen weeks ago on his then twelve year old brother had some fresh and some older.

Then, his head swam.

How in the world did Dean miss this? How had he not known that he needed protect Sam from both the supernatural and the natural worlds?

How had missed the signs?

Why the hell couldn't he go back in time to fix this? Maybe even to find out why.

Dean couldn't though, and he wasn't about to push Sam into an uncomfortable conversation.

Instead he did the only thing he could, "Come on Sam, I want hit the next town in time to hit the bar and get you laid."

JUST A NOTE:  
I have nothing against John. This just kind of popped into my head and I had to get it out. This is my first true attempt at Supernatural fanfiction, so do me a favor. Let me know if I should just stick with Charmed.


	2. Sam

It was his job to protect Sammy, always had been

Sam stared out the window of the Impala, knowing eventually Dean would say something. He also knew that he would have to explain.

For now, Dean was driving, blasting AC/DC. They had barely spoken since the 'fountain of youth' effect, when Dean had found out about the fights he had with his dad.

Sam still remembered the first time like it was yesterday. His dad had been tipsy, but not drunk. It had been an argument, in fact, the same argument they always had.

"_We owe it to your mother to find the son of a bitch that killed her, no matter how much…"_

"_What kind of mother would want her children to live like this dad?"_

The accusation sent his dad into a tailspin. It was only a slap that time, and his dad spent weeks trying to make up for it.

Six months later, the same argument ended with Sam saying, "Dean's been a better father to me than you'll ever be."

The punch had knocked the wind out of Sam, but little more. It escalated for four years, until he was sixteen years old. His dad finally realized that he had a problem with his anger, and Dean was starting to deescalate situations.

Dean never knew how bad their arguments had gotten before that. The bruises were always explainable by the latest hunt.

Sam remembered one night that he had woke Dean up. Sam had a split lip, but it had been the third time that month.

He woke Dean and Dean immediately went to taking care of him, protecting his brother.

His dad had always put the weight of the world and the weight of holding the family together on Dean's shoulders. Save the world, avenge their mother's death, take care of Sam, and mediate arguments.

Dean did everything for this family.

Sam realized in that moment that it wasn't fair and that one more thing might just be the straw that broke the camels back.

Dean always had to take care of everything, and he did it with nothing more than a "yes, sir." He was always daddy's 'little soldier'.

Sam knew Dean didn't need anymore responsibility, so maybe just this once he could handle it himself.

Sam had kept it a secret since then, telling Dean he ran into an angry spirit that night.

Sam saw the trees fly by down the highway in between the two towns, looking at Dean finally.

"Are we going to talk about this or not?" Dean asked Sam gruffly.

"Not." Sam said simply.

"We need to…I need to know." Dean replied.

"What is it you're always saying? No chick flick moments." Sam's voice stayed even.

"Damn it, Sammy. This is different. Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

Sam didn't answer his brother. For once, he turned the volume up to Dean's music, "Carry On My Wayward Son," so Dean couldn't hear him.

Sam went back to staring out the window of the Impala, knowing eventually he'd have to explain.

Sam was just glad eventually wasn't now.


	3. The Talk

It was his job to protect Sammy, always had been

Another diner in the middle of nowhere forced Sam to sit across from Dean, facing him. Sam knew what was coming and tensed in the seat. He ordered a salad, while Dean ordered his usual mess of grease.

Dean knew that they had to talk. He had to find out or it was going to drive him insane. He had already decided that if they couldn't get this out in the open tonight, he was taking Sammy to Bobby. Bobby was the only other person in the world who had a chance to get this out of him.

Sam tried to look out the window, purposely avoiding Dean's gaze. It was times like these when he really hated that they spent every hour of the day together. Their only reprieve from each other was Bobby.

"You going to eat or not Sammy?" Dean asked, trying to evoke any sort of reaction out of his brother. This scared him. _His _Sammy was the exact opposite of him. _His _Sammy was the one always wanting talk about their feelings. _His_ Sammy wouldn't leave him out of whatever was going on in that head of his.

"Yea, guess." Sam said, turning to his salad.

"I still can't believe you eat that health crap, Samantha."

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

The familiarity of the banter had Sam calming down, and Dean saw it. That was exactly what Dean needed.

Dean knew he finally had Sammy, when he heard the aggravated, "Dean."

"What happened Sammy? Why didn't you tell me what was happening?"

Dean could see the low murmurs coming out of Sam's mouth, and Dean knew that Sammy was cursing up a storm under his breath.

Sam took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. Then, he took another, before another. "It wasn't all that big a deal at first. He didn't mean to do it. He tried to make up for it, and I would be lying not to say that it was a thoughtless comment from me that started it."

Dean was finding it harder to keep his calm under the evasive answer Sammy had given him. Dean knew Sammy and Dad had never gotten along, and there were always arguments.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Dean asked once again.

"I just…it was…Damn, Dean…I thought I could handle it myself." Sam stumbled, turning back to stare out the window.

Dean knew there was more to this, and Sam's evasiveness was really getting on his last nerve, "Why? Sam, why?" His voice had lowered considerably, and he hated that his brother could read him so well, when he saw the look in Sammy's eyes.

He hadn't seen that look since the day Sam left for Stanford. He just looked tired, pale. Dean knew instinctively that he wasn't going to like the answer. Sam's face told him that much.

That was one of the reasons, he was having so much trouble with the idea that he never knew. He knew _his _Sammy inside and out. He had practically raised him. Dean had been the one to make him dinner, even if it was just Spaghetti-Os. Dean had saved him from school bullies. Dean had even helped him get into Stanford, after _his _Sammy explained how tired he was of fighting with Dad.

This wasn't _his _Sammy. This wasn't the Sammy he knew and that scared Dean more than he'd ever be willing to admit.

Sam sighed, knowing it had to be said. The uncomfortable silences weren't going to stop until he did. Dean was not going to let him out of his sight until this was cleared up, and Sam knew Dean well enough to know that he was near his wit's end.

He was practically pulling out his own hair, which meant it wouldn't be long until he brought Bobby into this. Dean would hit the roof if he knew that Bobby knew before he did.

Bobby, a surrogate father to the both of them, had helped take care of Sam after Dad would get out of control. The very same Bobby who had tried to beat some sense into his Dad several times after taking care of Sam. In fact, Bobby had been the one that got his Dad into a program and took care of Dean and Sam while "John's on an important hunt."

He had to deal with this, no matter how much he wanted to just take off in the Impala.

"You had so much on your shoulders Dean." Sam began. "It was weighing on you. I saw that much. I thought….if you…." Sam gathered all the strength he could muster before turning to look his brother straight in the eye, breathing deeply.

"You couldn't handle anything else, Dean. Dad had already put the weight of the world on your shoulders, and it wasn't fair to you for me to add anything else."

Dean erupted, "Damn it Sammy! I could've helped. I would've stopped him. I'M SUPPOSED TO TAKE CARE OF YOU, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND DAMN IT!"

The entire diner stopped to stare at Dean and Sam. Dean didn't notice it, too wired, angry. Dean was fuming.

Sam, on the other hand, had just realized why it was a bad idea to have this conversation in a small town diner. Some people were staring at them with disgust, while others just gawked at their openness at least that was what Sam guessed. The rest of the diner thought they were a couple.

"Calm down Dean." Sam nearly whispered, and Dean looked around.

"Sorry. Go back to your meals."

"Plus Dean you were the one that finally stopped it anyway, without knowing it even. You started getting in the middle of the arguments. He would've never touched his 'perfect little soldier'. You protected me without ever knowing you were doing it or who you were protecting me from in the first place."

"That's not good enough Sam. You should've told me." Dean answered, slightly deflated, and somewhat happy to know he'd helped in some way.

It didn't fix it, but it made it better

Maybe, just maybe, that's all _his _Sammy needed from him was someone to make it better.

His brother deserved that.


End file.
